Written By: Eliza Berman
If there were a competition for saddest Disney movie, Bambi would be tough to beat. The 1942 animated film about a fawn whose mother is shot down by a deer hunter is, for unassuming tots, a brutal introduction to the hard knocks of life, its edges softened only by the cuteness of its woodland creatures and plucky orchestral soundtrack.
Bambi, like many of Disney’s disadvantaged heroes and heroines, ultimately perseveres to make a family of his own. In the spirit of persevering deer everywhere, here is a collection of LIFE Magazine’s most peaceful fawns, does, stags and bucks.
Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizabethronk.
November 8, 1954 cover of LIFE magazine
Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Tourists feeding deer in redwood forest, 1945.
Nina Leen The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Mother and baby deer standing beside tree, 1946.
Dmitri Kessel The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Actor Claude Jarman Jr. holding a baby deer for a scene in the movie “The Yearling,” 1947.
Walter SandersThe LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Tuleelk, Key Deer, circa 1940’s.
Nina Leen The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Jone Pedersen
Jon Brenneis The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images
The 15-month old pet deer laying down wi
Jon Brenneis The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images
Two men feeding deer, 1949
Mark Kauffman The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
A deer standing in a wooded stream, with its reflection in the water, 1952.
Ralph Crane The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Pier Angeli with a deer, 1954.
Allan Grant The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Pier Angeli with a deer, 1954.
Allan Grant The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
A deer cooling his heels along the Oregon seashore, 1960.
Dmitri Kessel The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Rainbow trout resting in tributary of Madison River with a fawn drinking at water’s edge taken by camera placed inside partially submerged glass enclosure, 1961.
George Silk The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Father and son feeding a wild deer in Yosemite National Park, 1962.
Ralph Crane The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
A young boy plays with a fawn and deer at a petting zoo, 1962.
Leonard McCombe The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Operation Gwamba
Stan Wayman The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Deer with large antlers, 1966.
Stan Wayman The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
A rescued deer, 1966
Lynn Pelham The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Deer on Gardiners Island, 1966.
Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Lone white-tailed deer drinking water from the banks of Cheat River, 1967.
John Dominis The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
